26-Jul-2005 -- After our successful visit of confluence 40N 114E this past February, I researched over the Internet for possible sites that we could visit before our motorcycle trip to Ali during the summer break. 36N 98E was on our list. It is around 30 kilometers south of Dulan, Qinghai Province, and on the east side of National Highway 109.

Dulan County belongs to West Lake Mongolia & Tibetan Autonomous prefecture, Qinghai Province. It is located at the southeast of Chaidamu Basin, 467 kilometers away from southwest of Xining, and Geermu is 365 kilometers to its east. The biggest saltern of the west--Chaka salt lake--is somewhere in between. One part of the road from Dulan to Geermu is at the heart of the vast desert of Chaidamu Basin. All you can see is send and thorny bushes. It is a magnificent view. Dulan used to be the political, economical, and cultural center of the ancient Tuguhui Kingdom. It was also an important stop of the famed Silk Route. There have been thousands more-than-1500-year-old tombs discovered within this land of just over 20,000 square meters.

We started from Dulan in the early morning. We got pretty close to the confluence very fast from the highway. With our limited time and other concerns, we were unable to get off from the road to be closer to the site. We left there with regret.